This first-of-its-kind center will foster interdisciplinary research and education to support the transition to a climate-smart circular bioeconomy. A circular bioeconomy is a holistic approach to production where waste from one sector can be used productively in another to keep materials in use longer, reduce the need to extract finite natural resources, and displace fossil fuels. It would replace the current “take-make-waste” approach with a system that reduces, recycles, recovers, and reuses waste – catalyzing a future in which biological resources are transformed into food, feed, energy, and biomaterials.

The Levenick Center’s work will address pressing concerns about the depletion of natural resources, air and water pollution, the buildup of plastics in our oceans, climate change, and the loss of biodiversity. It will rely on breakthrough science that bridges disciplines as well as a solutions-oriented mindset among economists, social and environmental scientists, biologists, and engineers.The Levenick Center was established by iSEE in partnership with the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) through a generous $10 million gift from Stuart L. Levenick (ACES ’76) and Nancy J. Levenick.

Leadership

Jeremy Guest, iSEE’s Associate Director for Research and award-winning Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at The Grainger College of Engineering, is the Levenick Center Director and iSEE Levenick Professor.

“It’s an honor to serve as the inaugural Director of the Levenick Center, which represents a bold and transformative investment in the future of our university and region,” Guest said. “The Levenick Center will act as a catalyst for interdisciplinary collaborations and cross-sector partnerships to accelerate society’s transition to a more sustainable, circular bioeconomy.”

Coming soon! New Levenick affiliates

Kaiyu Guan, Professor in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences (NRES) at ACES and Founding Director of the Agroecosystem Sustainability Center at iSEE, has been named the ACES Levenick Professor.

Four new faculty members recruited under a Special Hiring Initiative by the campus will also be affiliated with the Levenick Center and iSEE and will receive startup funding provided by the Levenick gift. These faculty will be hired in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences (NRES), the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics (ACE), and the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering in the College of ACES; and the Department of Plant Biology in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS).

This cluster hire will enhance research synergies at iSEE and across campus, fostering innovative ideas and transferring knowledge to the real world for public well-being, economic benefit, resiliency, and sustainability. It will also create educational experiences for students interested in sustainable design, economics, policy, climate change mitigation and adaptation, biotechnology, and environmental science.

Contact info

For more information about the Levenick Center, contact Director Jeremy Guest at jsguest@illinois.edu.